Weisse Rose zur See
by Fazadragonhart
Summary: In 1914, trapped by the war's turmoil on Pacific waters and shortage of coal, SMS Cormoran chose to be detained by then-neutral US Marines at Guam. Subpar living on board forced a sick Imperial German Navy officer to go ashore for medical treatment. There, she met a US Marine nurse with silver eyes and the beginning of their story. A Whiterose WWI historical fanfiction.
1. Ein

**Historical fanfiction? More like historical gayfiction. And I have unhealthy obsession for Weiss in naval uniform. Yee.**

 **For AngelFlower23 at AO3. Her WWII Whiterose RP with me gave me the idea that had to be scrapped due to some impossibility, but paving me the way to find better inspiration.**

 **Special thanks for TheRodrigator6 at Discord, a fellow history buff and my main technical advisor for this historical gayfiction.**

* * *

 **Ein**

 **Of Coals and a Stranded Cormorant**

" _Are you sure, sir? US might be a neutral party, but our relationship with them isn't that warm either."_

" _Thank you for your insight, Leutnant Schnee. But between becalmed after our last coal has been burned and getting torn by the Japanese, I'd rather gamble it with the Americans."_

She still remembered the conversation she had with her captain days ago, as it had happened just minutes before. While she had her share of wary that refused to be ceased by the captain's reassurance, she still carried her order dutifully.

Though, no one knew what the Americans would do to a band of German sailors led by a snow-haired female officer laden with insignia of Leutnant rank. She shouldn't be surprised if they were welcomed at shore with gunshots and all. United States' neutral standing in this war was the only flimsy security she and her crews had, but it wouldn't stop a belligerent American rifleman's bullet from striking their body.

After wading through the water all the way from Lamotrek Atoll, with the fear of running into Japanese patrols, the forerunner party approached the island of Guam. A sailor raised the white flag high to signal their peaceful intention, and the cutter reached the shore safely with no scuffle with the American coast guards. She quickly explained the situation to them, and followed with brief moment of heated exchange, she and two of the sailors were escorted to the governor's office while the rest were to stand by on the cutter.

Without much words exchanged, the snow-haired officer was allowed to had her audience with the governor.

"Leutnant Weiss Schnee of _SMS Cormoran_ , sir," she introduced herself with her English that carried thick German accent.

The governor only replied with a solemn nod. Weiss didn't get any reciprocating introduction from him, but she already knew to whom she was talking to from the plaque spelling his name; Captain James Ironwood.

"I need to know why a German officer is now standing in my office."

Weiss could felt her clenched hands getting clammy under the governor's scrutiny. Recalling the words she had nervously memorized for days, she spoke with even voice, "Our ship is short of coal and unable to continue our voyage. Considering United State's neutral standing in the war, we peacefully request your aid by providing us enough coal for our ship."

"Why, this is a conflicting matter." The governor's forehead creases in deep thought. "There are some certain circumstances and reasons why I have to reject this. However, if you're really in dire need of help, I'm willing to discuss the terms but only with your captain. Do inform him to anchor at Apra Harbor, your ship will be received peacefully here."

This was the answer neither she or her captain wished to get. Unfortunately, Weiss was no apt negotiator, especially not in delicate situation of war, hence there was nothing she else she could do.

"I will relay this to our captain. Thank you for having us, sir." Weiss politely saluted the governor and left the office. She was offered a short stay for her and her men to rest, but she turned it down. The captain needed to know this dismaying news as soon as possible.

Going back to the shore, Weiss barked orders for the sailors to haul their rear faster and get the cutter going. She impatiently hopped to the small sailing craft and the cutter left the shore to cut through the water in haste. Wind and seas were in their favor, pushing the cutter in better velocity for their hasty trip back to the _Cormoran_.

The tropical sun above beat the sailors with heat and delivered a dose of headache with it, but Weiss also felt chills crept under her coat. Upholding her duty and honor as an officer, she shrugged them off until they could see the _Cormoran_ again.

In a couple of days, the cutter reached the reefs where the cruiser was hiding at. Weiss and the sailors got on board all weary to the bone, but this was the price to keep the whole crew from getting tracked and killed by the Japanese while radioing the Americans for help.

After dismissing the tired sailors, she only took short break before getting back to her feet and reported to the captain. The hope hiding between the lines of the captain's face made a heartbreaking contrast to the less hopeful news she was just about to break.

"What is the response from the governor?" asked the captain.

A pang of upsetting throb drummed her head, but Weiss wouldn't let it stumbling her words. "They refuse our request for coals, but the governor is willing to discuss it with you, sir."

The captain cursed inaudibly under his breath, his reddish brown moustache hid little of his disappointment. "Then we'll head to Apra Harbor and get our coals or go along with whatever their terms. You can go back to your quarters and have some moment of rest, Schnee. You're dismissed."

Saluting the captain, the snow-haired officer retreated to her quarters and rested herself. She really needed rest, but she doubted sleep would be enough to chase away her overall discomfort—from both her headache and… everything.

It shouldn't have been surprising. War never brought anything but dread to people's bosom, no matter they were in the frontline or the other side of the Earth.

Dull days, sleep and headache cum light fever made the days flew fast yet painful. The meager remaining medicine on board did good job alleviating her ailments, but failing on curing it. Upset and bored, she fought the bits of sickness and donned her uniform then set straight to the deck.

She was mildly taken aback by the green of the island being so close from the ship, the light blue of shallow water replaced gloomier deeper shade of open seas. A sight that was so beautiful that it was disheartening.

"Morning, Princess Snow White. Lovely to see you on deck," greeted a man with hair colour that matched the sea, clad in same rank insignia as Weiss.

"Shut up, Neptune Vasillias," Weiss scoffed while her eyes were trained on the island. "So finally the _Cormoran_ anchors at Guam, huh?"

"Aye, and _Herr_ Sieben has just gone ashore to meet the Americans for coals." Neptune played with his cap in one hand and another combed through his matted hair. "Man, I want to see some action! I'm tired playing cat and mouse with the Japs! Once we get the coals, the Japs will have their asses handed to them!"

While Weiss shared the same sentiment, she was much more doubtful about the coals. Governor Ironwood seemed too steadfast in his reluctance, and a negotiation with him probably wouldn't do much.

The two young Leutnants was surprised by sudden marching thumps of the captain's boots against the steel flooring and the loud roar of his order :

"All hands on deck for assembly immediately!"

The officers were sent scurrying Moments later, sailors and officers of _SMS Cormoran_ assembled before the captain, murmuring among themselves until they were silenced by the captain's booming voice. (Oh fuck pls halp mi I can't write this part well)

"We've spent months at sea, dodging the Japanese while doing our duty to the empire," the captain opened the speech. "But as you all know, our current shortage of coal won't guarantee our survival against the Japanese's savage sea scouring. They give us a choice between leaving this island with the last bits of coal we have or to be interred. I will not let our enemies We'll go with their terms. This ship, all sailors and officers will enter their detention."

Even the steeled discipline of Imperial German Navy couldn't keep gasps from coming out. The sailors were already crowing between themselves about what would become of their fate. The officers weren't spared the time to dwell on their astonishment, as they were immediately prompted to retrieve their swords and follow the captain ashore.

American marines had been waiting for them on the shore under command of Governor Ironwood himself and led them to the base's courtyard. With minimal verbal exchange between the two parties, the German officers positioned themselves with commands from the captain. After briefly inspected the Germans, the governor prompted to start the procession.

Korvettenkapitän Sieben handed his ornate officer's sword to Governor Ironwood. His face was steeled and devoid of emotions. The captain's second in command, Oberleutnant Schwarzschild, followed suit with defeated look peppered with apparent distaste on his face.

One by one the officers gave up their swords in the procession. When it was her turn, Weiss reluctantly handed the grandest badge of her pride as Imperial German Navy officer to a white-clad American Marine officer—or it might be actually a Navy officer. She probably wouldn't know, and she didn't care.

Painlessly, albeit humiliating, the weary _Cormoran_ and her crews were finally safe in the clutch of American shore.

While the captain and his second in command were coming with the governor for further discussion, the officers were welcomed to unwind within limited perimeter.

"Better than being ripped to pieces by the Japanese, sure," she mumbled to herself.

Neptune landed his palm on her back with a chuckle. "It's not that bad, Weiss. We're not prisoners of war, we're here as…uhh…guests, I guess? But not also guests." He placed another friendly back slap when Weiss rolled her eyes with audible groan. "Look at the bright side, grumpy! Aren't you bored with months not getting to walk on the land? Besides, you seem tired and pale lately. You certainly need some fresh air from this pretty island!"

"You don't need to point out my skin's natural paleness," Weiss grumbled. "I hate to agree with you but fresh air sounds like a good idea."

"Aye, fresh air, good liquor and pretty ladies! Let's check what the Americans have here!"

Weiss practically resigned to her fate as the overly excited Neptune dragged her to a decently-sized bar not far from the base complex. They weren't alone, as most of their fellow officers decided to bank on the bar and relieved their pent-up frustration with beer, rum or whiskey.

Some already chugged beer while complaining—in German—how American beer tasted like shit compared to the lovely ones from German brewery. A handful of them opted for rum, either in delight or frustration or a mix of both. The shameless ones, like Neptune, already tried to hit it with the ladies.

Sitting by the counter, Weiss had her own helping of rum, but a barely touched after two puny gulp. She suddenly just lost her appetite and just sat there with lightly gritted teeth and a hand lightly massaging her temple.

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

Beside her was an unexpected company in form of a young woman, looking at her with concern. Instead of responding, she only stared at the woman for a long second before letting her heavy head dropped between her shoulder. Weiss knew this constant hammering on her skull wasn't from the onset of alcohol in her system. If she was drunk, even in the middle of headache she would've been throwing flirty—or even bawdy—pick-up lines at the grey-eyed woman.

Upon closer inspection, the woman's grey eyes popped out too much under the light, as if it was shining silver.

"Junior, a glass of water, please," the woman called the bartender and a glass of water was quickly served for them. With a soft smile she gave it to Weiss, wordlessly convincing the snow-haired officer to drink, then placed a piece of wrapped tablet on the counter.

Weiss frowned after the last gulp of her water. "What is that?"

"Aspirin always helps with anything," the woman chirped.

Duly, Weiss accepted the tablet and downed it with another glass of water. She tipped her head and muttered "Danke"—not "Thank you"—before going back to mull over whatever her headache wanted. She might not be fully aware, but the silver-eyed woman sat beside her, giving her a company of silence. If Weiss wasn't so much under the weather, she probably would exchange a short banter or two, but again she wasn't much of a talker outside of her drunken state. And her drunken state was a very embarrassing one—a reason why the snow-haired woman wasn't so into drinking.

The party was over when a couple of Marine guards—with rifles slung on their shoulders—came and ushered the officers to get back to the _Cormoran_ before dark. The officers initially responded with dismayed groans and all, but even the drunkest of them complied and started to leave the bar. All but the noisy and flushed Neptune.

He was still flirting with an amused slash terrified American woman with his gibberish of German and French. The Marine guards was so aggravated that they were so close to ramming the butt of their rifle on him, but Weiss just stepped in time to save her intoxicated shipmate.

"Just get along with their rules," Weiss reprimanded and pulled him away from the poor woman and the fuming American Marines. "We are not enemies, but also not guests, remember?"

"Noooo! It's too short! Like your height, Weiss!" Neptune huffed and flailed to get away from her iron grip. "Get this ugly white dwarf away from me! Give me my beautiful ladies—oof!"

Weiss jabbed Neptune's ribs viciously with her elbow and dragged the drunken womanizer all the way back to the ship.

* * *

 **While I know an officer handing his sword is a sign of peaceful parley or surrender, I don't know whether it's only the most senior officer who did it, or all the commissioned officer had to do the same. Eh, I'll take that artistic liberty license, please.**

 **And yes, Klein as a captain seems to be an odd choice. My initial plan is to have Ironwood for that role, but with his name that is too American for a German captain I decided to change it. Besides, Ironwood suits more as the then governor of Guam for reasons you will see in next chapters (or if you're a history buff, you might already know why).**

 **And keeping German ranks without translating it to equivalent American ranks is a decision I take to…uhh…setting them apart from the Americans as well as stylistic choice. Okay, I'll just admit it Weiss with German rank just sounds so sexy. A Leutnant is equivalent to an Ensign, but I'll take "Leutnant Schnee" over "Ensign Schnee" any day.**

 **Btw, anyone knows what** _ **SMS**_ **stands for?**

 **p.s. wait… wasn't 1914 still in the Prohibition period? If it is, would there be alcohol at Guam tho?**

 **p.p.s Nevermind. The Prohibition started in 1920 lol.**


	2. Zwei

**Zwei**

 **Sick Leave**

 _17 December 1914_

 _Not friends, but not enemies. Just strangers who are held confined in their own stranded ship. It's all we've become._

 _Christmas is near, but only meager of joy dares to thread amongst the bleakness of this overcrowded ship and her distressed crews. The American authorities prohibited us to go ashore, with exception of officers on official duty or whenever they capriciously feel like permitting us._

 _Sure, we're still breathing and alive, and I'm sure if we continued our voyage with whatever left of the coals, the Japanese would show us no mercy. But to live like this, not attacked as foes or welcomed as guests, is really unsettling._

 _I have hopes on Herr Sieben to at least succeed in making this condition a little more bearable for all of us._

Weiss read the entry she had just written once again, then backtracked the older entries. Most of them were daily mundane observations, some of it were her frustration of those daily mundanities. This wasn't how a journal of a soldier at war supposed to be. No accounts of thrills, of emotional and physical shake-ups by violent fighting recorded by her pen. A part of her envied her comrades of the _Emden_ who often bragged about their swashbuckling seaborne adventures at every available opportunity back at Tsingtao.

That, however, didn't necessarily mean she would gladly throw her life away just for adrenaline rush.

On her peripheral vision, a seaman came to her with a stiff salute. She closed her journal with a sigh then straightened her back. "What is it again?"

"It's Klopp, ma'am. Since days ago he's just… well, acting violent and harassing others without reason. May we ask the doctor to… uhh, _calm him down a bit_?"

"Yes, yes, just do anything so he won't make any more ruckus and bother others."

Her response was too dismissive and nonchalant, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't in her prime condition to be a responsible officer she was supposed to be. Blame it to the searing headache under her cap that had been plaguing her for days.

Having spent months bearing ranges of minor ailments under the Pacific sun, she should've been familiar in this kind of predicament. In this particular day, though, the sun felt hotter than usual. The burning sensation washed all over her, like a waterfall of lava descending from her head all way down to the toe.

All the way down, bombing her body with a striking bolt of pain.

Her hand caught the rail just in time before she collapsed. Even so, her grip was so shaky and brittle. Had the seaman not steadied her shoulders, her body would've banged the deck's floor hard. With a grunt peppered with hushed cuss words, Weiss ordered him to take her to the doctor. To hell with an officer's dignity and manners in front of her subject, she couldn't even stand straight on her own legs and her head was too close to exploding.

Limping, Weiss was supported by the seaman to the sick bay. The doctor worked fast in situating her on the bed as comfortable as possible but the treatment was badly hindered with incredibly low medical supplies aboard. The only possible effort left were giving her the very last precious aspirin on board, fed her pathetic excuse of a dinner and applied cold compress to arm her to survive through the night. By the next morning, her condition worsened. Her body temperature hit the roof and her muscles were aching all over. The doctor threw his hands up and urged to have her sent ashore. Fortunately, Weiss didn't have to suffer too long before they got the clearance to send her to US naval base for more proper medical attention.

The transportation of the sick Leutnant from the cruiser to the base was eventful. On the boat her shivering body was rocked by nausea and agitated her to vomit, but her empty stomach ejected nothing but further misery for her day. As soon as they reached the pier, she really had no strength left that she had to be carried upon a stretcher.

An American doctor and a couple of nurses carefully rushed her to the infirmary. Weiss sighed softly when her body left the rocking stretcher and landed on the fluffy margin of the bed. By no means this bed was a luxury, but compared to her bunk or the sick bay in the belly of a bleak ship, this was leagues better.

"I should've known you were sick that night."

Weiss looked up to one of the nurse, the one with peculiar shining eyes and black hair tipped with red. "…What?"

"The day when German officers visited the bar, remember? I was the one who gave you aspirin," said the silver-eyed nurse. "My name is Ruby Rose, Lieutenant Schnee."

"It's _Leutnant_ Schnee," Weiss corrected in croaky voice.

"Nice to meet you Leutnant… Schnee…?" Ruby stumbled with her pronunciation. "Not that I find it nice to meet you while you're sick but—uhh, well, you got my point!"

If Weiss' head hadn't been subjected under the mercy of metaphorical killer hornets, she probably would find the nurse annoyingly adorable. But for this moment she only wanted her to shut up.

Ruby realized more words would only bring more discomfort to the ailing officer, so she just cut it short and went on with her duty. Wiping the officer's flushed face, she could felt the searing heat permeating past the cool wet cloth to rendezvous with her sensory endings. No doubt an omen of how dire Weiss' suffering had been and would be without medical intervention.

Cold wipe could only do so much to hold back the fever. Fortunately, the doctor swiftly arrived with the reconnaissance consisted of a small compartment alongside an assorted vials of medications. The nurse cleaned the inner fold of Weiss' elbow with antiseptic as the doctor prepared the main firepower—a syringe loaded with hypodermic medication.

There, Weiss stared at the syringe after the fashion of an ancient footman before being shot by a field cannon.

While Weiss' vertically challenged physique left a lot to be desired, her immunity was more robust than average peers. That, and her handsome luck with health, allowed her childhood to be free of any common ailments as well as deadlier kinds of sickness. As an adult, any symptoms she suffered used to disappear with little to no involvement of any medicine, let alone medical injections.

Humans, however, fear the unknown—and her absolute lack of any experience with syringe needles triggered it.

For the first time in her life, Weiss cursed the natural resilience of her immune system.

"…Is that needle going to—?"

The doctor looked at the nurse and the officer with incredulous look. Ruby sighed softly and gestured the doctor to give her a moment.

"Don't worry, it's only going to hurt a bit, okay?" reassured the nurse with a smile, gently placing her hand on the snow-haired woman's clammy one.

Weiss was anything but reassured. The stoic face of the German Leutnant churned into one of horror when the needle inched closer to her skin. As the sharp bezel of the needle nipped her, her eyes shut tight in her desperate attempt to repress the pain and soldiered on. She exhaled audibly when the hypodermic syringe finally left her skin.

Ruby really had a hard time holding herself from giggling and hurting the German officer's pride. Why, a grown-up military officer cowering before a medical shot was one of most amusing sights ever.

The rest of the procedure went well. Weiss gently fell asleep from the effect of the medication. Ruby stayed a bit too long that she was supposed to. Everything stayed that way, until a blonde Marine called the nurse to get some lunch together.

Right before the door of the hospital wing, she looked over her shoulder to the only occupied bed.

"Something wrong, Rubes?"

"Nothing," Ruby chuckled. "Let's go have our lunch, Yang!"

xxxxx

Being sick sometimes could be a lonely business.

Weiss' body chose the right time to get sick and had the whole hospital wing to herself. Only the heat of her fever and sweltering sweat loyally waited on her.

Neptune could've visited her if he wasn't too busy chasing skirts in-between his official duty at Guam. Not that she missed his annoying presence in any way, but his chatters would be far more preferable than to ruminate alone in insufferable hot tropical air of Guam. Kapitän Sieben had kindly spare some time from his mind wrestling with the disagreeable American governor to visit her, but it was brief one-time occasion. Besides, she didn't want to take the captain's time and distracted him from his battle to improve the welfare of the whole crews.

The constant form of true human company she had was Ruby Rose, the nurse who always seemed to be around the clock for her.

Her opinion of Ruby Rose? Someone who superficially like a child in a grown-up's body, but an expert in her job. Adorable youthful face she had would easily made sailors swoon. Ruby Rose was fortunate Weiss was anything but deprived common sailor—imagine the amount of improper flirting the nurse would have gotten if she was just like anyone else.

That, and constant hum of headache drained her eloquence. Should she ever had to woo the nurse, she would never let her fever do the talking.

Speaking of the devil, the silver-eyed nurse had just entered the hospital wing, announced by gentle thumps of her soft leather boots. Crisp white uniform layered her petite frame, a black cape with crimson inner lining rested on her shoulder. By no means Weiss was disrespecting American nurse corps, but the uniform reminded her of classical purity and piety of white quirkily paired with the aesthetic of Dracula.

How could she wear a cape in a perpetually hot day like this though, Weiss wondered.

"Hello, Lieutenant—no, Loot, Leu—" Ruby shook her head and gave up her attempt at addressing her military rank properly. "Hi, Miss Schnee, how are you feeling today?"

Weiss glared at the nurse under her half-lidded eyes. How dare she asked that as if her condition wasn't so obvious to anyone with functioning eyes and brain. That, and the way the silver-eyed American mispronounced her surname made her cringe

The nurse chuckled with a sheepish smile and proceeded to taking daily readings of her vital sign. "Your fever is slowly going down. Any pain or stiffness on your limbs or joints?" she asked while lightly pressing and moving the officer's upper limbs. Her face brightened when she got negative response from the officer. "Really? Thank goodness. Seems like you already make quite a progress with your flu."

Weiss grimaced. "Flu? Seriously? I suffer this much because of common cold?"

"Flu is different from common cold," the nurse spoke with a frown cranking up the seriousness in her voice. "You should know influenza can kill people."

Weiss had to admit she was startled—and awed—by the unexpected firmness in Ruby's words and eyes. Even more so when those chromed steely eyes melted back into gentle quicksilver with too little transition, and the gentle voice that followed.

"But you're really strong. I heard that you've been feverish even before you went ashore." Ruby scribbled the results on the clipboard. "I'm glad you get proper treatment before it's too late."

Somehow, Weiss wasn't that happy to have her daily check-up done quick. It was a bright afternoon and the mix between too much sleep and overexposure of light would make getting a shut eye difficult. She didn't look forward to hours of doing nothing in loneliness of her sick bed. There was a suggestion inside herself to make use of the nurse as a company, but she discarded that quickly.

"And oh, I got you something from my own collection, to help you killing the time. I think you might like this."

Craning her neck, she examined what Ruby handed to her. To her surprise, it was a leather-bound script of Tanhäuser in both German and English text.

"You like Wagner?"

The nurse tilted her head. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, just something…unusual for Americans, I guess."

Ruby made a small jovial noise under her curled up lips. "You're not wrong! I don't have anyone to talk to about his works, so I excited to meet someone who knows his works."

Little did Weiss know Ruby's smile was infectious, as she was barely aware of how her lips curved under the stress of her own excitement. "How do you know Wagner's works, by the way?"

"My mom had a copy of abridged Tanhäuser in English she used to read for me before bedtime. I know it's not something a kid usually will like, but I just love it until now," Ruby said with twinkles in her argentine eyes. "I love it so much I bought the full script to read the whole thing in detail. And maybe finding someone who understands German to find anything that's missing from the translation."

Nodding with a short hum, Weiss skimmed through the translated and original script. "Well, I can say the translation is really well done. There's nothing much for me to cover, I wager."

"I guess you like Wagner's operas too?"

"I had the opportunity to watch the plays with my grandfather. Tanhäuser was also my first exposure to his works, and also quickly become my favorite."

"Tanhäuser is my top favorite too!"

"Are you sure it's not because you're biased to the first thing you know?" chuckled Weiss.

"No! Well, I don't know, maybe?" Ruby giggled bashfully. "What I know is I always want to give the poor Tanhäuser a big hug. He's a sweet guy, just confused and misunderstood."

At that point, Weiss really couldn't hold her laugh. Ruby's childish confession was too amusing and no one would be able to compete with that. Miffed by the reaction she got, Ruby huffed with a pout. In the end, she laughed along with the German officer and filled the space of the quiet hospital wing with their laughter. Then it ebbed gently, leaving them in peace of their own minds—Weiss and her book, Ruby with her fascination towards the snow-haired officer.

Usually, Weiss would find it deeply annoying to have someone buggering her while reading, even with something as simple as staring. She, however, found the nurse's silent attention elating and piqued her own interest towards the dark-haired woman. She couldn't deny the awkwardness though.

Weiss paused her reading to address the elephant in the room. "Is there something wrong, Miss Rose? You've been staring at me for a while."

"No, I'm just wondering if…uhh..." Ruby fiddled with her own fingers with a sheepish grin. "Can you sing anything from the play? Maybe Tanhäuser's song?"

"Tanhäuser's aria is for tenor voice. Mine is something closer to soprano, so I don't think it's going to work."

"But can you tweak it so you can sing in your range?"

It wasn't impossible. Weiss was more than capable to do that. She rarely accepted people's request to sing, however. Maybe the utter look of hopefulness in those wide eyes chipped her guard enough to allow some exception. There was no harm in it anyways, so might as well just go along with it.

"Alright, let me see." Her fingers flicked back and forth the pages. She settled with Tanhauser's aria on the first scene of act one, when Venus compelled him to sing. Sitting upright, Weiss cleared her throat, hummed a melody or two to set her tweaking of the aria and inhaled the air to start the aria.

 _Dir töne Lob! die Wunder sei'n gepriesen,_

 _die deine Macht mir Glücklichem erschuf!_

 _Die Wonnen süss, die deiner Huld entspriessen,_

 _erheb' mein Lied in lautem Jubelruf!_

 _Nach Freude, ach—!_

Soreness suddenly ambushed Weiss' throat. She threw a fit of cough that prompted Ruby to scurry for a glass of water. She drank the water in-between the coughs, careful not to get choked by it instead.

"Still sore?" Ruby asked and Weiss nodded in between her coughs. The nurse fed the snow-haired woman a spoon of sore throat emulsion and slowly the coughs quieted and ended. Ruby looked at the officer with face saturated by guilt. "I'm sorry I messed up. I shouldn't have forgotten you're still sick. But, gosh, your voice is really awesome, Lieutenant Schnee!"

Weiss sighed, "it's _Leutnant_ , Miss Rose. And don't worry about my throat, it's all fine."

A senior nurse came in and notified Ruby to get ready for the routine round to Chamorro villages. She was reluctant to do it, but the impatient look of the older woman ceased her will to weasel out. "I need to go, but I promise I'll bring Lohengrin and Parsifal with me tomorrow! I'll ask Blake if she got any Wagner's other plays too."

"Thank you for the book, Miss Rose" she muttered just loud enough to be heard. "And for your time too, I guess."

Ruby smiled with a nod then scuttled after her upset older colleague.

All alone again, Weiss buried herself nose deep to the singer-knight's journey of folly and redemption. The day was still hot and her head was still in the heat trap, but at least her heart found some comforting warmth to get through the day.

* * *

 **Say all you want about Wagner. I just love his Tanhäuser so much.**

 **It's really hard to find documentation of medical practices in 1910s, so I hope I can do it justice. I only know they're really simple and sometimes absurd, but at least it's better than in 1800s where opium literally became the cure-all.**

 **And oh, before you laugh at Weiss being scared of the syringe, go Google fu ancient syringe images, and decide if you want to get your next shots using it. (spoilers : I don't want it)**

 **Thank you for reading. Reviews, comments and constructive feedbacks make me feel loved. I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Drei

**Drei**

 **Quiet Festivity**

"Good thing for you, Miss Schnee, you've recovered better than I expected!" the doctor exclaimed. "Rest assured, that one will be the last time you'll see my syringe again, provided you don't get sick again."

Weiss sighed softly as the syringe had done its perforating duty and backed away from her skin. She discreetly glared at Ruby, who was giggling soundlessly behind the doctor, all while unaware of the doctor's own brand of comical interest with the officer. With the daily application of hypodermic medication came to the end, the doctor would be just monitoring Weiss' condition via Ruby's daily report. Wishing the German officer good luck and health, the doctor left with flurry of hurried steps and a murmur of a paper research or something.

"You heard Dr. Oobleck! You won't meet the big scary needle again!"

"I told you I'm not scared of needles," Weiss spoke with as much as dignity she had, the corner of her mouth and brows pulled and curled. "I'm just—nervous, that is all."

Ruby replied with a coy, teasing grin. "Well, of course you are, Weiss."

Weiss raised her eyebrows, not from the teasing but from how she was addressed that intimately.

Ruby blinked, took a moment to analyze change in Weiss' facial gesture and then covered her mouth. "Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Schnee!" she squeaked.

"It's fine. It's just experiencing Americans' _famed cordiality_ hands-on is a bit jarring for me."

An awkward, tight smile in Weiss' nod let Ruby knew she was excused, but she still made a mental note not to address the officer with the intimacy of first name again. For a time being, at least.

Putting aside this particular awkwardness, they actually had gotten quite close this past days—although not close enough in German standard for going with first name basis. Bonding over Wagnerian works, peculiar as it sounded, let them find good companionship on each other. Weiss would offer Ruby insights that might have been hiding or lost through the translation, and the nurse would help the German officer to perfect her English further.

Little did they know, it became something they both look forward every day.

"By the way—" Weiss shifted and sat upright with Parsifal waved lightly by her hand. "I've finished Parsifal just this morning."

"You've done with Parsifal already? You read fast!"

"As an officer it's a mandatory skill to read in the most thorough but efficient way possible." Weiss' fingers drummed lightly on the hardcover, unknowingly made a smug grin herself. "But aside from that, Parsifal isn't really my favorite. I've seen the play and honestly, it almost feels like a mass but in opera hall instead of a cathedral. Beautiful, but too solemn for my taste."

"Me too. Parsifal is a hero because well…he is pure, holy and destined to be hero, that's all. It's boring," Ruby said with a nod of an erudite in deep thoughts. "Oh! By the way Lohengrin is my close second favorite! He's just so heroic, cool and chivalrous! Though all the stuff about the lady can't ask his name is a bit dumb."

"If you hadn't told me Tannhäuser is your favorite, I would take Lohengrin as your favorite. You're the kind who strikes as someone who adores heroes deeply, and Lohengrin is a perfect hero in all sense."

"Well, you're not wrong, Lohengrin is the better hero hands-up." Ruby opened a random page of Tannhäuser and landed right on the illustration page of the singer knight meeting the Thuringian princess. "But Tannhäuser is just…I don't know, relatable. He's not like your typical hero, he's just an unlucky human who makes mistakes. A man whose love is manipulated cruelly by a goddess, and his small but dire mistake cost both her beloved princess and his own life. Not everyone can be a hero like Lohengrin, let alone destined hero like Parsifal. But anyone can be Tannhäuser of their own life."

Weiss took her time to observe how gingerly Ruby closed the book with a sentimental smile. Humans as nothing of heroes, but just fate's playthings. A somber look of life coming from a woman who burst into the hospital wing every day with bright childish smile.

"It's strange that we share same sentiment, at least in Wagner's works."

Ruby tilted her head with a goofy smile. "Great minds attracts alike!"

"Unlike a dolt like you, I won't go and tackle Tannhäuser into a big hug, however."

Faking an exaggerated grimace of being insulted, the silver-eyed woman gasped. "Unlike you, I'm not heartless!"

Seconds later, Ruby cracked open some gaily laugh and Weiss had her own helping of light chuckle.

The dust of their shared laughter settled down rather too quickly. Awkwardness swiftly set its place in the silence, the only notable white noise was Weiss tapping her fingers on the cover of Lohengrin laid abandoned on her lap. Her finger pads traced the titling of the cover, as if hoping for the Swan Knight of the story to grace her with some muse to keep whatever they had flowing swimmingly.

"So, do you want to talk about Lohengrin then?"

Letting few seconds to sink in, Ruby shook her head. "Well, we've been only talking about the plays for days, but we barely talked about each other. I want to know you more, if you don't mind?"

"I thank you for your honest interest in me, Miss Rose. I'll try to cater your curiosity, as long as it's still within proper boundary."

"Don't worry, I won't ask you weird stuffs. Okay, so…" Biting her lips, Ruby played mental eenie-meenie-miney-moe to pick what to ask. "Where are you come from? Are you from—what's the capital city of Germany again? Oh! Are you from Berlin?"

Weiss raised her eyebrows. "Do I look like a Berliner to you?"

"I don't know… Your hair is really pretty, well, _you_ are pretty—," Ruby blushed lightly and interrupted her own question with awkward laugh. The hidden amusement between Weiss' otherwise neutral face made it slightly harder for her to word everything accordingly. "Yeah, you look like a high class Berlin lady."

"Surprise for you, I'm not from Berlin, or any big cities. My family residence is near a mountain town in southern _Bayern_ —Well, I guess it's called Bavaria in English. And I spent two years at coastal city of Kiel for my officer training. I've never been to Berlin."

"So what's Bavaria is like as a city?"

"Bavaria isn't a city. It's a part of the Empire, but a kingdom of its own region." The nurse blinked at Weiss' statement, obviously clueless and confused by the geography of German Empire. Weiss took a moment to brainstorm a way to make it easier for Ruby to digest. "Just… think it like a state of many states of the United States." The nurse blinked with more confusion and Weiss just groaned. "Anyways, Bavaria is mountainous in its southern area, which is also the place of my hometown. So technically I'm a mountain girl than a city lady, if you will."

"You're too pretty for a mountain girl," Ruby muttered bashfully, making Weiss chuckle.

"Bavaria is also where the opera hall where Wagner's plays are held, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in the town of Bayreuth."

"Bayreuth what?"

"I think the English words for that is Bayreuth House of Festival, or something like that."

Ruby nodded almost comically, with all the unadulterated awe in her eyes and wide span of her smile. "I'm jealous. You live in cool mountain town and you've seen the operas with all the arias and orchestra."

"Yes, you really should be envious. Wagner's music compositions are marvelous. It's something anyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime." Weiss reveled in the look of utter jealousy Ruby gave, and brushed it off with a good-natured smile. "Sometimes I wish the plays were able to be recorded. And that way, we can listen to the arias and the complete score together here."

"Why not taking me to Bayreuth, then we watch them together?"

"I don't think it's possible, not with the war raging on Europe at the moment."

"When the war is over, then?" Ruby peered to the distance out beyond the window, then back at the confused Weiss. "I love Guam, it's a lovely island, but I've seen everything of it. I want to see new things. Gee! I want to see snowy mountains!" Adventurous at heart, Ruby could already picture herself walking among the picturesque unseen Bavarian land. Would its cold mountainous fields make a stark contrast with Guam's hot tropical jungle land? Words coming as anything explanation from Weiss wouldn't do any justice.

Unknowingly, Ruby's excitement triggered Weiss' longing of home. None at all did she miss the somber large manor of Schnee family, but she missed the faraway mountains and their snowcaps, and her grandfather's unfulfilled promise to take her hiking up there. And of course, the trips to the town of Bayreuth for watching the operas. Everything that had become a distant memory was beckoned to come home to her by a mere mention of an American nurse's wishful thinking.

They had their head wrapped in their own different spaces to one same destination. But Ruby was the first one to disembark from her imaginary trip, chuckling in healthy blend of awkwardness and heartiness that pulled Weiss back from her own musing.

"Sorry, I'm spacing out. I'm just, you know, fascinate by your homeland."

"There is no need to apologize, Miss Rose. Actually it's something I can relate to."

"Welp, seems like I'll never get to go to Bavaria or watch the operas in this lifetime," Ruby said. "So promise me you'll sing me more arias once you're well enough?"

"Why would I do that for you?"

"Because you have beautiful voice."

Weiss froze for a moment, then shifted her eyes to some arbitrary point to hide Ruby from her main field of view. She hoped any appearing red shades on her face was taken to be just another colouration from the fever. Clearing her throat, she asked, "What date is today?"

"23 December."

"Christmas is coming really soon."

Ruby nodded with apparent dismay on her face. "Honestly, I really want to have you fully recovered before Christmas, because I want to take you to—"

"Weiss! I brought you food and beer!" hollered Neptune, marching with clinking noise from beer bottles in the basket.

Ruby stood up with unpleased look. "Sir, no liquor for the patient."

"What? Oh, okay," Neptune answered in English and quipped to Weiss in German, "Tough luck, Weiss."

While the sea-haired man sat unceremoniously on the chair the nurse had been sitting at earlier, Ruby gave Weiss a skewed smile over her reddened face before leaving in unexpected haste.

"Some manners you have, Neptune Vasillias," Weiss scowled.

"What? What did I do wrong?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. He did lots of wrongs. Being a logistics officer gave Neptune some loopholes to visit the island more often than other, and yet he found not enough goodwill to visit. Worse, he had just unabashedly intruded her time with Ruby and even chased the nurse away with her unbearable uncouthness.

"Well," Weiss started off, "For someone who claims to _love me_ , you don't care about me enough to pay some visit."

Neptune gasped dramatically. "Oh, Princess Snow White is actually missing me and wishing for my affection? My love is finally reciprocated!"

"Quit your corny act."

"Heh, not that you will need me visiting you anyway. You've already got an American cutie waiting on you."

"American cutie?" Weiss' face pulled taut. "God, I hope you don't mean it as Miss Rose."

"So it's her name?" Neptune rubbed his chin with a crooked grin. "I see that you've set your eyes on your new American prey! Good job, young imperial eagle! Kaiser will be really proud of you!"

"I-I don't see her that way! You insufferable little crook…" Weiss breathed out a groan and Neptune gleefully added the fanfare with a mocking cackle. But the cackle soon turned into one genuine laugh, and Weiss couldn't help but go along with hearty chuckle.

"On more serious note though…" Neptune's laugh died too suddenly as his face turned somber. "It seems that you might have to spend this year's Christmas ashore and alone."

Weiss chuckled onwards, swapping the sweetness with more bitter essence. "I've seen it coming."

"I know we all are hoping for Christmas miracle, but Santa isn't coming to the _Cormoran_ this year," said Neptune before he took a long swig of the beer. "But here we are, still stuck with low supplies and morale, and the Americans being anal about everything. Good thing I can still manage to wrench enough beer and food for Christmas eve on board for the lads and the lasses."

Weiss' disappointment must have been really visible, for her sea-haired comrade laid his hand on her shoulder with an apologetic smile. "But hey, I don't mind getting some American bayonets up in my ass just to make sure your Christmas isn't all alone and miserable. I'm sure Herr Sieben too won't mind to send a man or two keep you company during Christmas."

"No, thank you. I'd rather have ugly coal in my sock than your irritating presence for Christmas" Weiss swatted his hand away, getting her joy disguised as a frown when she saw Neptune's dramatic dejected look. Her frown jaded into a real one, then softened into a face of rue. "But really, please don't. You and others have hundreds of sad sailors to take care of on board. I can just sleep the whole day and forget Christmas exists."

"You sure?"

"Vasillias, I'm a fully adult Navy officer, not some little girl in nightgown hoping for Santa and presents. Christmas is just another day in a year."

Hauling a sigh, he nodded and forced a more lighthearted smile. "Still, I am obliged to give you some little present ahead of time! So let me sing some Christmas carols for our dear grumpy Frau Leutnant! _O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum—!_ "

"Dear god, stop, please stop! You make my ears bleed!" Her hand flailed to hit him on his arm to put the end of her ear's misery. Weiss never had tinnitus, but she was sure it would be like what she felt now—but with additional pain tearing her eardrums.

"Thank you, dear. I know I have heavenly voice that will make heavens cry in joy." Neptune took a momentary pause to praise himself, despite the pure intent of killing in her eyes if he dared to open his mouth again. But he dared, and so he sang again, " _O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,_ _wie treu_ _sind deine Blätteeeer_ _!_ "

Weiss dug her head to the pillow, vainly trying to tune out the ungodly screeching sung by him. It turned out to be an effort almost as impossible as surfacing alive after diving while gulping water. Her ears started to beg for their lives, but being a loving friend Neptune was, he kept on for the whole song with increased pitch and volume along the way. The more she suffered, the more his sick joy was sated.

"Sir, I know you're spirited for Christmas, but please don't use it as an excuse to disturb Miss Schnee."

Weiss' salvation came as Ruby, suddenly appearing from nowhere, reprimanding him with seriousness she had never seen from the chipper nurse. Neptune was about to rebuke, but he was shot down with sharp, "Also, the base's quartermaster is waiting for you, and he's not exactly in good mood."

"Shit, I hope it's not for those extra crates of beer…" Neptune grumbled in German before chirping quick quip of "Thanks!" in English and scampered out of the hospital wing.

Weiss sighed and rested her head easy on the pillow. "Miss Rose, I'm obligated to thank you for getting rid of that nuisance."

"Ouch, that will hurt his feeling badly, you know?"

"Don't get me wrong. He's a really good friend, but not when he split my skull open with awful off-tune carols."

Chuckling, Ruby scratched her own short dark hair and said, "You know, I don't mind keeping you company here on Christmas eve, all night long."

"You seriously won't stay here all night just to wait on me."

The nurse grinned and rubbed her chin comically. "Hmm, I don't know? I never miss Dad's Christmas dinner and the Yule log, but I can't leave you alone here either."

At the mention of the chocolate dessert, Weiss looked at the nurse with renewed interest. "You'll be having Yule log too? It's not something usual in American Christmas tradition, is it?"

"Mm hmm, but Dad told me one day a grandma from Europe gave Mom a tasty Yule log for Christmas and she loved it since, and it always become a part of our Christmas dinner." Ruby's eyes lit up. "I know! I'll bring some for you!"

"Oh please, stop it, can you?" Weiss scoffed. "Stop playing saint and just spend your Christmas dinner with your family. I don't need you or anyone just for a so-called special time in a year."

She expected a light-hearted rebuttal, or any response with Ruby's trademark natural high pitch. The silver-eyed woman only stared at her with some of her eyes' shine dulled few degrees. This wasn't right, Weiss knew it. Even more so when Ruby left with a half-hearted nod and no words.

Weiss just shrugged it off and read few more passages of Parsifal in the kingdom of Klingsor before going to sleep.

24 December dawned. It started with a very dull morning, filled with only re-reading Lohengrin and Tannhauser and a short nap. She was slightly more energized when afternoon came, but her face fell flat when she found a ginger haired nurse in the place of dark hair and silver eyes. The ginger nurse was equally zesty, if not more, like Ruby. But still, not Ruby.

From the start till the end of the day, Ruby didn't appear at all.

Maybe her nonchalance was worded too bitter and vile enough to hurt Ruby, so bad that the silver-eyed woman even refused to see her as a nurse. Being crass and straightforward was never a quality of herself Weiss would complain. This was the first time she mentally beat the hell out of herself for it, for letting her scathing words slashing an undeserving kind woman who only wanted a less miserable Christmas for her.

Christmas was coming, and Weiss was strapped by sickness and bad luck to her bed in the land of strangers. Quiet. Alone. With no snow falling.

At sea, at least she could celebrate with her fellow officers over pints of beer and awfully sung carols. Back at her home, at least she could see snow falling and staying with her throughout the lonely holy night.

The sunlight had vanished and electric bulbs came to life. Christmas eve was finally here, to haunt her with loneliness while others was celebrating it with warmth of meals, family and friends. The only warmth she had was leftovers from her fever and Guam's tropical air. Closing her eyes, she attempted to make this so-called holy night went faster with some bland nightly sleep.

"Liuetenant Schnee, sorry for making you wait! I was too busy at home today!"

Weiss jolted and sat upright. There, near the entrance of the hospital wing, was Ruby with a basket on her clutch, scuttling closer to her bed.

"It's _Leutnant_." Weiss rolled her eyes with a low mutter of "Amerikanischer Dummkopf" under her breath, which was too loud to go unheard by Ruby. Seeing the nurse only shrugged it off with a smile, she sighed and palmed her face. "Seriously, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your family for your Christmas dinner?"

Grinning, Ruby revealed what was inside her basket. "Like what I promised, best slices of Yule log in Guam! And best cuts of freshly roasted turkey!" Ruby flinched slightly the way Weiss gave her a doubtful look. "What? My dad and my sister are a-okay for me leaving the dinner early to give you some Christmas treats!"

"Fine, fine, give me those. I'll eat them all if it makes you happy."

With Ruby's happy squeal on the background, Weiss forked the chunks of turkey to her mouth and chewed it softly. The fresh roasted poultry meat tasted so stellar compared to rations and any other iteration of soldier's food she had to fill her stomach with. The luscious taste and her unacknowledged hunger made the turkey dish disappear at surprising rate. Weiss' stomach wouldn't complain about that though.

Done with the main course, now Weiss moved to the dessert. It had been so long since she had Yule log. Skeptical at first, her eyes shone bright when the chocolate and cake melted inside with flavours. It was too tasty that it was sinful for this dessert to appear in such remote island, and she found it hard not to wolf down the slices of chocolatey goodness.

Watching Weiss' almost carefree antics while eating, Ruby couldn't hold herself from laughing. "You like them? Dad cooked the turkey, but this Yule log is proudly made by my own hands!"

"You made it? This tasty cake? I don't believe it," Weiss scoffed and took another bite of the chocolate cake in slower, more dignified manner. "From your story I just thought your mom made this Yule log."

"I want to eat hers too! I only can copy her recipe, but it's never perfect like hers," Ruby helped herself with a slice of the cake and ate it with unbridled joy. "Sadly, she died when I was eight."

Weiss stopped chewing and put the fork down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Ruby shook her head and finished her slice, then they both fell into brief but long lasting bout of silence. The slices of Yule log suddenly went forgotten. Both tried to steal glances at each other, but when the blue and silver met each other, they looked away.

"You know, I miss seeing snow falling in Christmas."

Weiss looked at Ruby, who had her eyes trained on the window.

"The last time I have snowy Christmas was when I was eight. I even remember Mom threw a snowball to my face that day, then we have three-way snowball fight with Yang." Ruby chuckled softly. "It's amazing I still can remember that."

Weiss looked at the window to and hauled a short sigh. "Honestly, this is the first time I have a Christmas without snow. I've had two Christmases at sea, and it's always weirdly snowing." She raised her eyebrows when Ruby gave her a wide-eyed stare. "What? It might sound bizarre, but it does snow at sea under special circumstances."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Ruby scrunched her eyebrows before letting out a gasp. "Wait! Schnee means snow!"

Weiss let out a soft chuckle with a tilting glance. "Yes, and what of it? It's something as common as a surname can be."

"I know, but it also means you're the 'snow' of my Christmas this year," Ruby giggled.

Weiss blushed deeply and looked away with deep scowl. Her frown couldn't stand Ruby's laugh for too long before it melted away as gaily laughter.

They shared the eve together with laugh and last slices of the chocolate cake. When the festivity of the night was coming close to the end, they gladly settled themselves in comfortable silence as Ruby cleaned up the dishes.

"I think it's almost midnight. And I don't think you should walk home really late," Weiss said.

"No worries, I always can crash to the nurse's quarters at the base anytime."

The snow-haired woman nodded and watched as Ruby prepared to take her leave.

"Merry Christmas, Lieutenant—well, _Leutnant_ Schnee."

" _Frohe Weihnachten, Frau Rose,_ "

The lighting was dim, but it didn't hide Ruby's rosy cheeks. Not when her name rolled off so sweetly in smooth German. Giggling awkwardly, she showed herself out in messy scurrying pace.

Weiss smiled and loosely wondering how adorable Ruby could be. And she made the best Yule log Weiss ever had. It was sad to see this night of quiet festivity had to come to the end, for she admittedly wished for spending some more time with Ruby.

But she didn't mind, for Ruby had made this night to be a night for Weiss to sleep soundly in joy.


End file.
